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Adam West, who earned a place in American pop culture history with his campy portrayal of the title character in the classic 1960s TV series “Batman,” has died at age 88, his family said on Saturday.
West, who was so closely identified with Batman for the rest of his life that it was both a blessing and a curse for him, died on Friday evening after a short struggle with leukemia, his representative told Variety.
“He was the greatest. We’ll miss him like crazy,” his family said on the actor’s Twitter page.
The live-action “Batman” show, starring West along with Burt Ward as his sidekick Robin and a collection of colorful villains, was inspired by a long-running comic book series. It ran only three seasons from 1966 to 1968 on the ABC network, but became a television phenomenon and cult classic. It also spawned a “Batman” feature film in 1966.
West portrayed Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne as painfully earnest, straight-laced, clean-cut and trustworthy. The darker aspects of the Batman character – mined so successfully in later film versions – were ignored.
Adam West
The show’s various memorable villains – Cesar Romero as the Joker, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Julie Newmar as Catwoman – were allowed to chew the scenery. Numerous Hollywood luminaries stepped in to play Batman’s demented adversaries in the show’s 120 episodes.
“He was bright, witty and fun to work with,” Newmar said on Saturday in a statement. “I will miss him in the physical world and savor him always in the world of imagination and creativity.”
